Tools for Screening and
Measuring Progress
Sucheta D. Connolly, MD
Director, Pediatric Stress and
Anxiety Disorders Clinic
University of Illinois at Chicago
Medical Center
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Screening for Anxiety
Disorders
• Childhood anxiety disorders are common and
often co-occur (8-10%)
• Routinely include screening for anxiety
symptoms as part of any child and adolescent
evaluation
• Obtain information from multiple informants
(child, parent, school)
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Tools for Screening and Measuring
Progress: Anxiety Disorders
• BASC & CBCL broad band measures
completed by child, parent, and teacher
(parent & teacher report for young children)
• Alternative Vanderbilt Assessment Scale*
(parent & teacher report)
• Pediatric Symptom Checklist*(parent/child)
• MASC (March et al., 1997) and SCARED*
(Birmaher et al., 1999) anxiety self-report
measures for 8 years and older
• Sensitive to change & treatment progress
• (*) available with open access on line
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Tools for Screening and Measuring
Progress: Comorbid Disorders
• CDI self-report for depression
• Conner’s parent & teacher report for ADHD
(alternative Vanderbilt)
• Both of these are sensitive to change &
treatment progress
• Screen for substance abuse (CRAFFT)
• Consider LD, language disorders, PDD
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Adolescent Substance Abuse
Screening: CRAFFT
Six-item measure that assesses for
problematic substance use among
adolescents
This measure is very brief and can be given
as a standard part of an initial assessment to
screen for likelihood of a substance use
disorder.
Two or more “yes” responses are suggestive
of a probable substance use disorder and
should be followed up with a more in-depth
assessment.
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Adolescent Substance Abuse
Screening: CRAFFT
1. Have you ever ridden in a Car driven by someone
(including yourself) who was “high” or had been
using alcohol or drugs?
2. Do you ever use alcohol or drugs to Relax, feel
better about yourself, or fit in?
3. Do you ever use alcohol/drugs while you are by
yourself, Alone?
4. Do your Family or Friends ever tell you that you
should cut down on your drinking or drug use?
5. Do you ever Forget things you did while using
alcohol or drugs?
6. Have you gotten into Trouble while you were using
alcohol or drugs?
(Two or more yes answers suggests risk for substance 6
use disorder)
T-Scores And What They
Mean
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Mean T-score = 50
Standard deviation (sd) = 10
T-scores from 40-60: Average range
65-70: Borderline significant (top 5%)
70 or higher: Clinically significant (top 2%)
T-scores 39 and below: Low
• Do not need to be a clinician to score and
interpret these screening measures: CBCL or
BASC (broad-band), MASC (anxiety), CDI
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(dep), Conner’s (ADHD)
Selective Mutism Questionnaire
(R. L. Bergman Ph.D.)
• Parent report and teacher report
• Items relate to situations in school, with
family, in social situations outside school,
and “other” situations
• Parents rate how often child interacts with
others
• Behavior and interference ratings
• Research measure under development
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Assessment of Anxiety
Disorders
•ADIS-C
•Differential Diagnosis
•Severity and Impairment
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Differential Diagnosis and
Assessment of Anxiety
Disorders
If screening indicates significant anxiety,
evaluate further for specific anxiety disorders
• Distinguish from normal fears, worries, and
responses to stressors or trauma
• Evaluate severity and functional impairment of
anxiety disorders and comorbid disorders
• Consider differential diagnosis with other
psychiatric and medical disorders
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ADIS-DSM-IV-Child Version
• ADIS-DSM-IV-Child Version (Silverman &
Albano, 1996) for youth 6-17 years old to
supplement clinical interview (parent and
child interview schedule)
• Considered Gold Standard
• Feelings Thermometer to assess severity,
functional impairment (interference), and
monitor progress
• Developmentally appropriate language and
situations that apply to youth
• Assessment of commonly comorbid disorders
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(ADHD, depression, dysthymia)
Differentiating Anxiety
Disorders
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SAD
GAD
Social Phobia
Specific Phobia
Panic Disorder
• Selective mutism
• OCD
• PTSD
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Differentiating from Physical
Conditions
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Physical conditions with anxiety-like
symptoms: hyperthyroidism, caffeinism
(soda), migraine, seizure disorders, lead
intoxication, pheochromocytoma, cardiac, etc.
Medication side effects: prescription
(antiasthmatics, steroids, sympathomimetics)
and non-prescription drugs (cold medicines,
antihistamines)
Somatic symptoms commonly associated
(stomachaches, headaches), consider MHA
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early in medical evaluation
Differential Dx: Psychiatric
Psychiatric conditions (similar symptoms):
 ADHD (restlessness, inattention)
 Psychotic disorders (restlessness, social
withdrawal)
 PDD (social awkwardness, social
communication deficits, repetitive behaviors,
adherence to routines)
 LD (worries about school performance)
 Bipolar disorder (restlessness, irritability,
insomnia)
 Depression (poor concentration, sleep
problems, somatic complaints)
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Tools to Assess and Monitor
Severity and Impairment
• Feelings Thermometer to assess severity,
functional impairment (interference), and
monitor progress
• Feelings Barometer can include faces rather
than numbers, or link the two
• Choose developmentally appropriate tool
young children may use 1-2-3 faces scale
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